Tortuguero National Park

i went there for a builders beyond borders trip to build the community there a nursery school and repaint some of their old playground structures and buildings. the people are the sweetest people you will ever meet: kind, considerate, hospitable, fun, and all around good people.

to get to the Turtle Beach Hotel in the Tortuguero National Park, you have to take a two hour boat ride through shalow canals in the rainforest. The nature is gorgeous, and you see howler monkeys, tons of birds, “jesus lizards”, crocodiles, and so much more. Pictures cant capture how beautiful this place really is.

You’re basically out in the jungle. See more wildlife than you can imagine. Paddle a canoe up a stream through the jungle. No bugs to speak of. Is that perfect or what? The only downside: takes about 7 hours to get there from San Jose, 2 of them down a beat up dirt road.

Make sure you visit the little tourist town (Tortuguero) that has sprung up to cater to the tourists. You only get there by boat. And go see the sea turtles on the beach. My favorite sign in that town: a small hotel in the town, after listing the (primitive) things the hotel has, lists “High Speed Internet”. That’s what I love about being in the jungle: only the bare necessities of life. :-)